


Storms in Summer

by The13thBlackCat



Series: One Sky, One Destiny [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: (because I refuse to believe these poor kids don't have some PTSD), Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I couldn't decide which POV to write in, I'm a one-trick pony, Multi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, but finally decided on Riku because IDK
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2017-04-10
Packaged: 2018-10-17 02:12:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10584276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The13thBlackCat/pseuds/The13thBlackCat
Summary: Sora doesn't really do so well with thunderstorms, anymore.





	

   Riku had always been a light sleeper, but storms never bothered him. He’d grown up on a tropical island, after all, and storms there were common and often fierce: learning to sleep through them was practically a survival skill. Even the loudest thunder could only wake him for a few seconds at a time.

   What he couldn’t sleep through, though, was the ringing of his phone.

   He shoved himself up onto his elbows, squinting irritably at the light illuminating his room and trying to make sense of why he was awake. Outside, rain pounded down on the house and thunder rumbled nearby. After a few seconds, his eyes adjusted enough that he could make out the name and contact picture, at the same time his brain caught up and identified the ringtone he’d set for Sora.

 _What the fuck,_ Riku thought, sleepy and confused and thoroughly _annoyed._ In the corner, the time read 3:47 AM. He grumbled indistinctly to himself as he picked up his phone, answering with a yawn.

   “The _fuck_ do y—“ he began, but he could barely get even that much out before Sora cut him off.

   “ _Where are you?_ ”

   For a second, Riku blinked wide-eyed at his room. Sora’s voice had been in a whisper, sharp with fear in a way that cut right through Riku’s grogginess and irritation. He’d heard Sora anxious, spooked, worried…but not _terrified._

   “Sora? What’s wrong?” He remembered the question a second later, adding, “I’m in _bed_ , where else would I be? _Are you okay?_ ” The last part came out tight, almost angry. If something had happened to him—

   Sora exhaled, shaky and strained. “You’re…still here.” His voice was choked with emotion that Riku couldn’t identify, and he was about to ask for clarification— _still here? What was that supposed to mean?_ —before Sora started talking again.

   “N-nothing happened, I’m f-fine—“ He said the word like even he didn’t care enough to make it sound like a decent lie. “—j-just…the storm.” He took a breath, harsh. “The storm w-woke me up,” he added, “And I…I h-had to make s-sure…y-you were…”

   Riku frowned in silence as he tried to explain, staring out his window, across the room. Outside, lightning flashed, briefly illuminating the night—and then it died away and left everything in inky darkness again, thunder rumbling, and realization hit Riku like a physical blow.

   “Hey! Hey.” His voice gentled once Sora had stopped talking. “Hey, shh, calm down. I’m fine. Look, I’ll come over, okay?” He was already getting to his feet before he’d even finished the sentence, feeling his way over to his dresser and yanking out the first shirt and pair of pants he could find. Awkwardly tugging them on and trying to hold his phone to his ear with his shoulder, he continued, “Just— _nmph,_ sorry, almost fell over—just calm down, okay? I’m on my way, I’ll be on the phone the whole time, okay? So you’ll know I’m alright.”

   Sora didn’t answer at first as Riku made his way downstairs, only barely remembering to grab a hoodie on the way. It was a light one, and sleeveless—the Destiny Islands were never really _cold_ after all—but it would hopefully be enough to keep the rain off his phone. He didn’t want to think of how Sora would react if it died suddenly mid-call.

   “Okay,” Sora said after a moment of silence, his voice soft, as he finally seemed to remember Riku needed him to _say_ something since he couldn’t see him.

   “Okay,” Riku answered, trying to sound soothing and calm and not like he was on the verge of panic himself. He paused long enough to scribble a brief note— _Went to Sora’s, emergency, sorry_—and left it on the kitchen counter where it would be most obvious. His grandmother never missed anything, so there was no way she could miss this. _Still, should call later,_ he thought, distantly. Who knew how long he’d end up at Sora’s.

   He sucked in a little breath when he stepped outside and the rain hit him. It wasn’t…the _worst_ storm the Destiny Islands had endured—

   — _not at **all,**_ he thought, guilty—

   —but it was one nobody with any sense would be out in. Riku huffed out a breath, yanking his hood down. Luckily, Sora didn’t live far from him. He kept himself talking the whole way, updating Sora on his location and occasionally prompting him for a response when he went quiet for too long, or trying to calm him down when thunder crashed and Sora whimpered in response, tight and frightened. It was so _wrong_ —Sora had never liked storms like Riku did, but he’d never been _scared_ of them either.

   He paused for a second at Sora’s door, about to summon his Keyblade, until Sora told him it was unlocked. He didn’t hang up until he’d stepped into Sora’s room and laid eyes on him—huddled up in his blankets in the middle of his bed, his back to his window. He jumped when his door opened, looking up at Riku with wide eyes and a wild sort of panic that make Riku’s chest _ache._

   “Sora,” he said simply, hanging up and shoving his hood off as he went to kneel in front of his bed. “Hey—“ Lightning flashed and Riku reached out to touch him; Sora blinked—then flinched away, his eyes wide.

   He seemed to realize what he’d done almost immediately, though, and made a strangled noise in his throat before gasping, “Oh god, R-Riku, I’m _s-sorry_ , I didn’t—“

   “Sora! Sora, hey, shh, it’s okay. It’s okay.” Riku had to fight to keep his voice calm—calm was what Sora needed now, more than anything—because this was so _wrong_ for his best friend. But he couldn’t let himself get panicky too, because that _would not help_ , and Sora needed— _deserved­—_ better from him than that. He backed off a bit, looking down just for a second—just long enough to text Kairi as quickly as he could. _Sora’s, ASAP._ More explanation would have probably helped, but Kairi knew him well enough to know something so short and to the point meant he was dealing with something _serious._ He just hoped she got it: he might need her. _Sora_ might.

   That done, he set his phone aside before reach out to Sora again, this time just gently touching his knee. Every instinct he had screamed at him to yank Sora into his arms and keep him there until he was better, until he was back to his normal cheerful self, but he fought it—he knew it probably wouldn’t help just yet, and distantly, he realized he was _soaking_ and he didn’t really want to get _Sora_ soaked too.

   “It’s okay,” he repeated, trying his hardest to sound calm. “It’s okay. I’m here, Sora. Nothing’s going to happen, okay?”

   Sora let out a slow breath, shuddery, before biting down on his lip. He’d squeezed his eyes shut, and they flickered open slowly, falling to Riku’s hand on his knee before moving to his face. For a moment, Sora just looked at him, his expression unreadable—and then, all at once, he was moving, shoving his blankets off and flinging himself off the bed into Riku’s arms, his arms going around his neck and his face buried against him. Riku’s arms went around him immediately, pulling Sora as close as he could.

   “I’m sorry,” Sora was whispering, his voice muffled and tight, but a little bit steadier, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have called you, I know this is stupid, I—“

   “ _No,_ ” Riku cut him off, his voice firm and nearly harsh. “Don’t you _ever_ be sorry. If you need me, you call me. No matter _what._ Understand?” He let out a short little breath, closing his eyes for a moment and trying to gather himself.

   Besides, if anyone should apologize, it should be _him_. _He_ was the one responsible for Sora’s sudden, wrenching fear of storms, and more than anything he’d ever done, he wished he could take back that night. But he couldn’t, and apologizing for it now wouldn’t help—the last thing Sora needed was to _focus_ on it, and he’d come here to help, to make sure he was okay.

   Sora nodded in response, letting out a shaky breath. He’d started to relax, just a little, even if there was still far too much tension in him. A hand slipped down to Riku’s chest, pressing against the center of it, and Sora swallowed, trying to steady himself.

   Sora’s door opened and they both looked up—to see Kairi standing there, soaked through, in her nightgown and sneakers. Her nightgown and hair was plastered to her skin, and she was clutching her phone to her chest, her eyes wide with concern. “The door was unlocked,” she said, quiet, until her eyes fell to Sora and she gasped, dismayed. “ _Sora?_ What’s wrong? Are you okay? Is he okay?”

   She was across the room before either of them could respond, kneeling beside them and reaching out to cup her hand around Sora’s face. He tipped his head into her hand when she touched him, nuzzling into her skin, beginning, “I’m…I’m fine.” It was a lie—a bad one, and he knew it as well as they did. Before she could protest, though, he let out a shaky breath and turned to pull her into a tight hug, pressing back into Riku’s chest. Kairi yelped in surprise, but didn’t fight, and she soon relaxed, slipping an arm around Sora at the same time Riku adjusted to pull her close, with Sora squished into the space between them as tightly as possible. It should have been uncomfortable, but right now, he didn’t think Sora was about to protest.

   “…can you stay?” Sora asked, very quiet. “B-both of you?”

   “Of course,” Riku answered, without even pausing to think about it. “I left a note. Grams will understand.”

   “I’ll call in the morning,” Kairi added, nodding, before she corrected herself, “I mean, later.” She bumped her head against Sora’s, readjusting until she could take hold of his shoulder and squeezing it gently. “We’re here, Sora. We’re not going anywhere.”

   “Never again,” Riku agreed, quiet.

    Sora let out a breath at that and seemed to relax a little, slumping against Riku’s chest. Riku nuzzled into his hair for a moment, until Sora swallowed, looking between them.

   “I, um…I think I have some things you guys can wear,” he began quietly, but made no move to get them. Neither of them tried to give him space to move, either—Sora could pull away from them when he was ready to.

   Instead, Riku snorted, prodding Sora gently. “You’re probably as soaked as we are by now,” he muttered. “Anyway, I don’t think I can fit _any_ of your clothes very well.” His voice came out a little tight with nerves, but it more-or-less sounded like his usual teasing. _Good_. Normal. Normal was what Sora needed.

   “I, uh…I think I stole some of yours, actually,” Sora answered, a little sheepish, “if I can find them…” He untangled himself from them finally—for a second, he hesitated, like he wanted just to go right back to where he’d been and stay there until morning, but then he took a breath and went to his dresser instead, digging around in the drawers.

   He pulled out a pair of dark blue pajama pants that were a bit too big for him, and a sleeveless black top to match, tossing them both to Riku. Riku shook out the shirt, blinking, and muttered, “Was wondering where this went…” Kairi chuckled in response, a little strained, as Sora rummaged around until he found a shirt big enough to cover everything on her.

   Riku had already tugged his own shirt and hoodie off by then, pulling on the dry one before kicking his shoes off so he could get the rest of the way out of his clothes. His eyes fell on Kairi for a moment—even in the dark, you could see that her cheeks had gone red, and _why_ was rather obvious: she didn’t appear to be wearing much of _anything_ under her nightgown. Neither of them would have blamed her if she went to change in the bathroom, but she just huffed out a short breath and set Sora’s shirt aside before reaching down to gather up the skirt of her nightgown. Her modesty was less important than her not leaving Sora, apparently.

   Riku averted his eyes before he could see anything, though, trying to ignore the way his cheeks warmed. He focused instead on getting to his feet, moving to smooth Sora’s blankets out before pulling them back and sliding into his bed, against the wall. Sora had just finished changing into his own dryer clothing, and when he turned to look at Riku, Riku patted the mattress pointedly next to him. Sora joined him in bed without further prompting, snuggling up against his chest and curling his fingers in his shirt, and Riku pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, smoothing his hair down gently—as much as anyone _could_ smooth Sora’s hair down, anyway.

   Sora looked up just as Kairi’s weight settled onto the edge of the bed, and he turned to pull her over, pressing a brief kiss to her lips. He turned to give Riku an equally brief kiss, letting out a short breath. Once he’d settled, Kairi slid her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly for a moment and kissing his cheek as Riku shifted to adjust himself, his hand in Sora’s hair, his arm across him, and his back to the window, between Sora and the storm outside.

   “Love you,” Sora whispered, his voice quiet. But he sounded like himself now, more-or-less. Riku nuzzled into his hair and Kairi rubbed her head against his shoulder briefly.

   “Love you,” they both answered, almost in unison.

   Between the two of them—quite literally—he would be alright.


End file.
